"Well, let's go play some games then!" Yuuko exclaimed, bounding to her feet while dragging Seth behind her. Bobbing for apples was first, though they had to wait in line for a bit, enduring happy birthday wishes and cheers from the people around them.

Finally, it was their turn, and Yuuko was determined to beat Seth. Then she realized something. How was her tiny mouth supposed to grab onto one of them? Before she could evaluate further, the "official" blew the whistle, and she plunged her head in, searching for the juicy apples.

"Oh! I need a glass of punch!" Scott exclaimed, laughing. He knew Amber was feeling parched herself, but it wasn't just a ruse. He really was thirsty. "Come on, let's go get a drink." Then he made his way over to the punch bowl, still grasping Amber's hands.

When they finally got there through the crowd, Scott poured two tall glasses of the black punch before sitting down on a nearby bench. He handed Amber one while he took a swig of his, breathing heavily. "Are you having fun?" he called over the din.

Seth laughed, " Alright then let's go play games" He said. He allowed the girl to drag him to the line for bobbing for apples. He just nodded at the people and would glare at the ones who seemed to be bugging her. He let her go first though. He noticed that she manged to do well and get a few apples. Soon after her turn it was his turn. The whistle went and his head went under the water. He had forgotten he tended to take more water in then apples.

" Huh? Oh ok sure" She said. She let him lead her off the dance floor. She was surprised he was holding her hand again. She knew she could get use to that. She sat down next to him. " Thank you" She said, when he handed her the punch. She nearly drank the thing in one huge gulp. She was more thirsty then she thought she was. " Yeah, I'm having a lot of fun, what about you?" She asked him with a wide smile.

Jean noticed the two of them walking off the dance floor. Her eyes narrowed as she saw them holding hands once again. Why didn't she know about this, Scott tended to tell her everything, and he never really once mentioned Amber. He talked about Yuuko more than Amber. She walked over towards them. " Hello" She said smiling at them.

Hauling Seth to the food once he was done hacking up water from the bobbing barrel, she grabbed some pudding, chocolate with oreo crumbs and gummy worms, and a sippy cup of punch for herself, waiting for him to get his own stuff before going over to the stairs.

The pudding was amazing! Her favorite part was when the worms slithered down her throat whole. It made her giggle every time. She was enjoying the party. The music was awesome, the games were fun, and the food was delicious! Especially Amber's cake. Even the ghosts were out having fun, though she was probably the only one to see them. "Hey, Seth?" she asked, curious. "Do you see those misty shapes too?"

Shrugging off her thanks, Scott finished drinking his punch with an "ah" before answering. "Dancing's not really my thing, but it beats sitting around all night," he said. Leaning back, he just let his body relax, aware of Seth and Yuuko sitting on the stairs. They seemed to be having fun as well, which was a good thing, especially for the latter. It was her party after all.

Opening his eyes, he must have dozed off, Scott was surprised to see Jean standing in front of him. "Hey, Jean," he said, brows furrowed slightly. "I thought you were visiting your cousin in Philly. What are you doing back so early?"

Once they were done with the water game and Seth was done coughing up water, he followed her to the food table. He put chips, and cupcakes and candy onto his plate. He also grabbed a class of punch and followed her to the stairs and sat down next to her. He smiled at her," Are you having fun, enjoying the food?" He asked her. Seth eyebrows knitted in confused, he glanced around the room. He didn't see something misty now that he was looking. " I see something, but it's very vague outline. Why do you ask?" He asked her.

Amber watched him from her eyes, and she nodded. " Ah I see. You are right about that" She told him. Amber was feeling out of place unsure of what to say. She glanced around the room and spotted a happy Yuuko with Seth. She was glad they were having fun, including everyone else as well. She then noticed Jean standing there. She wanted to sigh, she knew Scott would be distracted now. She felt like she should go away or something.

" Oh I visited her, but she got busy with work. So I came home, I just got back today. So how have you been? Anything new to report?" Jean asked him. She felt the strange urge to glare at Amber. She just wanted the girl to go away or something. She waited for him to respond.

Grinning widely when Seth mentioned that he saw vague outlines, Yuuko called one over. "Where do you see it?" she asked, obviously excited. "They're ghosts! I'm the only one I knew of that could see them though. At least until now!" From the way she was acting, Yuuko thought it was obvious that she was enjoying herself, and so didn't bother to answer that question.

"Eh; same old, same old," he said, shrugging. "Anything interesting happen on your trip?" True to male nature (sorry!) Scott was completely clueless as to the friction between the two ladies next to him, and even more so of the cause. Although, Yuuko probably wouldn't have noticed it either. And so, he casually crossed his ankles while he waited for a response.

" Well there one fuzzy outline over by the punch and I think I see a few by the dance floor." He said. He turned to her surprised to hear that they were ghosts. It should surprise him to find out they were real, but it shouldn't have. He smiled," Really, well I didn't know you could see them. I've noticed the outlines before, but I thought it was my mind playing tricks." He said. It was nice to know that he wasn't as crazy as he thought.

Jean eyebrows arched, and she glanced at Amber. She wasn't so sure about the same old same for him. " Not really, it was pretty boring" She told him.

Amber felt odd being there, it just didn't seem right. " I'm gonna go get snacks or something" She mumbled before getting up and moving away from them. She didn't like feeling out of place, and did her best to avoid things that made her feel that way. She walked over to the table, and started making sure the snacks were still full. She wasn't really all that hungry, but she needed and excuse to walk away.

Jean watched the girl walk away secretly glad. " So Scott, what have you gotten up to today? When did you and Amber get so close?" She asked him.

"Well, my powers all deal with this kind of stuff, and the ghosts are more noticeable on Halloween," Yuuko explained, glad that someone would listen. Most of the time, people didn't care, and when they did, they stopped liking her. Something to do with affiliating with the dead or something stupid like that. "Though people usually don't seem them because their minds block them out. But maybe know you'll be able to see them more clearly! And maybe even hear them eventually!"

"Nothing much," Scott answered, shrugging noncommittally. "Amber and I learned that it was Yuuko's birthday today, so we set up this party. She's pretty cool once she opens up." Something told him that Amber's disappearance was to do with Jean's appearance, and so he excused himself to go check on her.

Entering the kitchen, he walked up to her at the table. "Hey, are you alright?" he asked, putting a hand to her shoulder. His other hand grabbed a gummy worm that he quickly sucked up, though the next one he offered to her.

" Your powers do? I never knew that. It's sounds very cool, and I'm sure the ghosts love having someone who sees them. It sounds like it would be lonely when no one sees you, and your left to wander the earth. Is it hard being the one of the few that sees them?" He asked her. He didn't think it odd or a reason to stop liking her. " I can understand, sometimes people block out things they don't wanna see or scare them. It not good to do that all the time" He said.

Jean figured that part, but she wanted to know why they seemed to be almost dating. Scott told her everything, and yet he seemed to be dodging that question. She watched him leave with narrow eyes. It to her left like she was being replaced and she didn't like that. Something dark told her she should take care of the thing, that was coming between her and Scott. She shook her head, wondering what was going on with her. She normally wasn't like this.

Amber was surprised to see Scott, and it didn't seem like Jean was following him. She was confused, none of this was making much sense. " Yeah, everything is fine Scott" She told him softly. She took the gummy worm and ate it. She smiled slightly, " Is everything ok?" She asked him. She didn't know why he was here.

"Oh, they do. But it's hard to talk to them in public because people tend to think you're crazy," Yuuko explained, reaching out to shake a passing ghost's hand. "They were actually the ones that caused the gas leak yesterday. They do tend to get restless, and then they pull pranks. I had told them nothing dangerous, but being dead twists the meanings of that word." She kind of trailed off there, aware that she may be overloading Seth with info. She knew it could be a lot to digest.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Scott said, shrugging. "I just wanted to make sure you were alright. I think Jean might've gotten to you. Not fair really. What with her being a telepath and all that." Of course, Scott didn't mean it in a bad way. He was just cracking jokes to try and get a laugh.

"You want to cut the cake and give the first piece to our guest of honor?" he asked, handing her the big knife. It really was turning out to be a great night. "This party was an amazing idea, by the way."

Seth listened to her, it could be a bit overwhelming. Yet he was able to grasp it all, he was Seth he was awesome at anything if he wanted to be. " I know what you mean, people always think someone talking out loud and not to another person is crazy. People are too quick to judge." He said. He mused for a moments," Well I guess when your dead sometimes you just want to cause a little chaos, you know to create some excitement. I guess I can understand that." He told her with a smile.

" I see. No worries, I'm really fine. She didn't get to me, she just looked she wanted to talk to you alone, so I wanted to give her a chance to do that" Amber said softly. She had to wonder why Scott seemed to dense, where all guys like that. Jean had been looking for answers, and Amber had a feeling at least one of the questions Jean wanted the answer to was the same one she wanted an answer to. " Oh yeah, let's get her some cake. Oh it's nothing special. I've always wanted to do something like this for someone." She told him softly.

"That's one of the reasons I like to talk to ghosts," Yuuko said, smiling. "They don't judge at all. I could run down the street naked, and they'd still talk to me like always." Truth be told, Yuuko was glad to finally get to share this kind of stuff with someone. It felt nice to have what she would call a friend.

"I think they do it because they want to be noticed," Yuuko countered. "Not so much cause chaos, but to get someone to pay attention, even if they can't see or hear them directly." Subconsciously fondling the bright green stone that hung from her wrist like always, Yu-yu waited for Seth to respond.

"Well, it was still a great idea," Scott countered, feeling a little bummed that he couldn't help cheer her up. "I'll go get everyone ready to sing, okay?" Waiting for a response, he couldn't help but notice Yuuko and Seth seemed really into whatever they were talking about. And for some reason, they seemed a lot younger, at least behaviorally. Yuuko was always like that, but even Seth seemed more like a twelve year old than a junior in high school. Maybe Yuuko just had that effect on people?

Shrugging, he jogged over to the stereo where the microphone was, pulling it on and tapping it against his wrist to get everyone's attention. "Okay everyone, you enjoying the party?" he asked, satisfied with the positive response. "Well, in a few moments, Amber's going to come out with the cake so our special guest can blow out the candles, so just hang tight, alright?"

" Your right about that. It's sad that people are only like that in death. I wish sometimes more of the living were like that" Seth told her with a smile. " You know, I think your right about that. It's sort of like a baby, it cries or does something to try and get someone to notice it, and pick it up. I never thought about it like that before." He told her. He noticed her messing with the green stone, and was about to ask about it, but then Scott announced the cake.

" Oh look like it's time for your cake, come one. You wouldn't want someone else to blow out the candles" He said teasing her a bit. But it wasn't making fun of her teasing, just teasing that was done between friends.

" Oh, ok" Amber said. She watched Scott walk out of the room, and sighed. " I don't think you would noticed if someone liked you even if they told you flat out." She mumbled. She went to get the candles and started placing them on the cake. " Geez, Scott, why do you make everything so confusing for me" She mumbled. She shook her thoughts away. She held up her pinky and fire came out from it. She used that to light each candle, but blowing the flame out on her pinky. When she used fire like this, it was very easy to use. She grabbed the cake and started to carry it out. " Alright, here comes the cake" She said. As she stepped out of the kitchen with it, everyone started singing.

Nodding to Seth's statements, Yuuko grinned with joy. It was truly a treat to have someone as a friend, something she had never had before, other than the ghosts of course. Standing with Seth, Yuuko couldn't help but blush violently. And it only got worse when the cake was brought out, and they started singing.

"Amber! It's amazing!" Yuuko exclaimed, leaning forward to get a closer look. It was perfect! "Thank you!" And when the group stopped singing, Yuuko blew the candles out, eyes closed. Strangely, it brought up a memory. She was sitting in a high chair, and she blew out three candles in a strawberry shortcake. That was the last time she had had a birthday party.

A little bummed now, Yuuko took her slice of cake, ironically the biggest, back to the steps and sat down, waiting for Seth.

((I'll think of something for Scott in my next post. :)))

Seth sung, but the whole time he was watching Yuuko. He was glad that she looked so happy. She so deserved it, she from the looks of it, had been dealing with a lot. She deserved this whole entire party, it was only right. Yuuko was always nice to everyone here and it was about time they returned the favor. After Yuuko got a piece of cake, he got one and led her back to the stairs.

Amber blushed slightly, when Yuuko talked about her cake. " Oh thank you" she said. She smiled as she watched the girl blow out her candles. " Your welcome, I hope you enjoy it" She said with a bright smile. She cut a piece for Seth and handed it to him. She cut a few more before handing that chore over to someone else. She walked towards Scott with a piece of cake for him. She noticed Jean talking to him again, and slowed her walk over there.

" Scott, looks I've been wondering is there something romantic going on between you and Amber? How do you feel about her" Jean asked. She was really concerned her, she wanted Scott to be happy. Plus she could tell the other girl liked him, and if he didn't like her it was best for him to state so now. Though part of her felt envy that he might like Amber.

Digging into the cake, Yuuko couldn't help but sigh with pleasure. It tasted ten times better than it looked! Amber certainly was an amazing baker! Grinning at Seth again, yet unaware of the frosting on her nose, she spoke. "Does this taste as good to you as it does to me?"

Scott was truly glad Amber's plan had been pulled off well. Yuuko positively beamed happiness. It really was the least they could do for her, after all. Looking over to Jean as she spoke, Scott scratched the back of his head. "I hadn't really thought about it," he responded. And it was true. It had just been so natural that there was no uncomfortableness about about it. "Yes... no... maybe? I don't know. You know I'm no good with feelings." Especially since part of him still liked Jean, even though the rest wanted Amber.

Seth started to eat the cake. It was amazing, he never would have thought, miss little quiet was a great cook. He grinned at Yuuko, " Yeah, this cake is like super amazing" He said with a smile. He then noticed the frosting on her nose," Oh you have frosting on your nose" He said with a grin. She looked so cute like that.

Jean sighed, this was so like Scott. " I know that feelings really aren't your thing, it just seems like she really likes you. With the hand holding and dancing with her, she might get the wrong idea. I only say this cause your my best friend, I worry about you." Jean said.

Amber blinked, and titled her head in confusion when she heard Jean speak her name. Her face turned bright red, as Jean asked him her question. She could hear her heart pounding loudly, and felt a little down casted when she heard him say he didn't know. Yet what startled her most was when Jean mention how she had noticed, that she liked Scott. Her faced turned bright red, and she set the cake down on a nearby table. She turned quickly on her heel and rushed out of the room and outside. She didn't know what to take of this, but she didn't want him to know that she might like him that way. He wasn't even sure if he liked her. She felt so foolish, and what sucked the moment she stepped outside it started pouring down rain.

The mention of the frosting on her nose caused her to cross her eyes to try and see it, unaware of how silly and childish it looked. Then her finger came down, swiped it off, and threw it in her mouth. "I'm sorry I don't have a big mouth like you," Yuuko responded, sticking out her tongue jokingly. Of course, it was all in good fun. As she brushed another stand of hair back behind her ear, the green gem swung out from her sleeve, much like a pocketwatch.

Standing up to go outside and watch the rain, Scott just gave Jean a thanks before heading off. Lightning had to be one of his favorite natural phenomena, and the clouds promised a lot of it tonight. He noticed another figure outside in the rain, and quickly went to grab an umbrella, carrying it out to them. In the dark, he had no idea that it was Amber, but the flash of lightning illuminated her face, and he just stared, dumbstruck. "Amber?" he asked. "What are you doing out here? Come on back inside before you get sick."

Seth chuckled and smiled brightly. He ate a bit more of his cake, before he noticed her stone again. He really wondered why it was there. " I was wondering, what's the deal with the stone? Is it's something special? That is if you don't mind sharing with me." Seth told her softly. He didn't want to pry into her life, and seemed cruel, but he really did wonder what it was.


Jean's eyes narrowed as she watched him walk away once more. She stormed up to her room, she wasn't sure what to do with her sudden anger anymore. So decided to head up stairs to try and cool down.

Amber stood outside, and couldn't help the few tears down that where falling out from her eyes. She couldn't understand the ache in her heart. There was no reason for that to be there, if anything she was just being silly she felt. She heard someone call her name and saw Scott there. She shook her head," No. I'll be fine" She told him. She didn't want to go inside, she just wanted to stand out here. She needed the space the air, or so she thought. She wasn't really sure.

"Uh?" Yuuko asked before her eye caught the stone as well. "Oh! The stone's a focus for my powers. My daddy found it in his field the one day, embedded in a rough leather glove that he threw away. He said that there were five other slots, but they were empty." She didn't mention how much the ghosts disliked it though. They complained that it felt like the stone was gnawing on them.

"So you heard Jean then, huh?" Scott asked, sighing. "Look, I do like you, but I'm not sure if it goes that far yet. I mean, I barely know you. Give it some time and let what happens happen." He could understand what she was feeling, but it was still a little silly to the rational, level-headed X-man. Not to mention he'd rather they both know they like each other than to just jump into it with both feet.

Seth watched her. It was really interesting how she got it. He did wonder what the other slots have been for. " Well it's rather nice looking. It's not heavy is it?" He asked her.

Amber looked away, listening to his words. She didn't want to hear this, she didn't like this ache she kept feeling. Why couldn't she be level headed like him, no instead she had to be too emotional. She took a deep breath, all she wanted to do was run off and get away from this. Yet she knew that she couldn't do such a thing. " Look, now isn't the time to talk about this, it's too early for a conversation like this" She said keeping her voice level.

"No, it's actually surprisingly light," Yuuko answered, grinning mischievously as she caught it. "But watch this." And then she channeled her energy into the stone, shaping it into a dagger. In the middle of the hilt sat the stone, glowing eerily with inner light. Then the dagger morphed into a mace, and then a pistol, and then it just dissipated all together.

Sighing once more, Scott let the conversation drop, enjoying the lightning as it flashed across the sky. "Nature's fireworks," he said appreciatively. "But so spontaneous and abrupt. And ten times brighter than anything we could make. It certainly is a sight, isn't it?"

" Oh it is" He said sounding surprised. Seth's eyes widen in surprised as the stone changed into different weapons. He was wondering how it did that, it didn't make any sense. " How did you do that?" He asked. It was very cool though.

Amber stared up at the sky as the lighting moved across the sky. It would light up the sky and shine light on her face and hair. " Yes, it's a very nice sight" She said. It then clicked that she was standing out there, soaking wet at this point. She turned to glance at Scott. Lighting went off again, highlighting her. Then the wind blew and she shivered slightly.

"I *yawn* channel my energy into the stone, and shape it," she explained, using several hand motions. "The facets and such in the stone help me move it how I want. The energy is pretty deadly though. It's basically death concentrate. One scratch is enough to hospitalize someone with serious wounds. On bare skin anyway." Yawning again, she leaned against the stairs, her eyes drooping slightly.

The lightning gave Amber an almost ethereal appearance. Then she shivered, and Scott realized just how cold it was outside. Handing her the umbrella, he peeled his shirt, dry, off under the umbrella. It wouldn't help if it got wet, after all. "Here, slip this on," he said, exchanging the shirt for the umbrella. "It's dry, so it'll be a little warmer than what you're wearing now. I don't want you to get sick."

Seth watched her noticing that she was getting tired. He had no idea that Yuuko held such a deadly power. If she truly wanted to be, she could be a truly deadly force to reckon with. " Wow, that sounds like a lot to handle" He told her softly. He smiled at her," Alright time to get you to bed. The stairs aren't a good place to sleep" He told her.

Amber was confused, when he handed her the umbrella. She looked at him with confusion in her eyes. She blushed bright red, when he started pulling off his shirt. She looked away, feeling really shy. She looked back when he spoke again, her eyes quickly drinking in the sight of his shirtless. She nodded and traded him the umbrella for the shirt. She did as he said, and put it on over her clothing. The shirt smelled like him she noted. " Thank you" She mumbled.

Nodding numbly, Yuuko obeyed, crawling up the stairs before standing and entering the bathroom where she flossed, brushed, and washed her teeth with the various bubblegum flavored items. She loved bubblegum flavoring. But that was besides the point. Too tired by now to even care if she was wet or not, Yuuko just staggered into her room, collapsing on the bed while snoring softly.

"Eh, no biggie," Scott responded, shrugging aside the thanks. "Do you smell that nitrogen in the air? It's hard to imagine that every lightning strike helps plants, and us, live." And then, as if to punctuate his point, the lightning flashed, and the rain came down harder. But the lightning also revealed just how cute Amber looked in his shirt, two sizes too big for her. Chuckling, he put his arm around her to help spread the body heat, giving her a kiss on the cheek on an impulse. Maybe he really did like Amber after all.